Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting | gluten free

These cupcakes are a celebration of the beginning of the holiday season. Fluffy, tender, spiced gluten free sweet potato cupcakes are topped with sweet and tart cream cheese frosting. One bite and you won’t be able to stop!Hiya everyone, guess you might have noticed something a little different around here today. Thoroughly Nourished Life is currently undergoing some changes. Just like any good recipe there are a few steps to getting from raw ingredients to finished product, so please bear with me if my apron gets a little messy around here from time to time. By which I mean to say, I’m new to this whole blog design thing, so if things change a little from week to week while I settle into having full control of my blog for the first time then please stick with me. We will all get there in the end. And you have to enjoy the journey because at the end of the day that’s all we’ve really got.

Oh, and I made you cupcakes to celebrate! And no one gets mad when you bring cupcakes. I’ve tested this theory thoroughly.I spotted these adorable mallow pumpkins in a pharmacy in New Orleans and smuggled home two little bags of them in my suitcase. They made the trip to Australia just fine, which is great because I just knew I had to use them in a holiday treat for my family. The perfect pairing for these adorable decorations: fluffy-crumbed gluten free sweet potato cupcakes crowned with swirls of smooth tart cream cheese frosting. These were an instant hit with my family when I brought them to our first holiday party of the season: our annual Halloween Spectacular! At the end of a laughter-filled evening scaring little kids (in a fun way) and handing out sweet treats we retreated to have some dinner (Mum made me the most delicious stuffed mini pumpkin) and dessert. Folks, I wasn’t allowed to leave the house with any of the leftover cupcakes. Nada. They were already squirreled away into the back of my parent’s refrigerator before the last crumbs were licked off my plate.

I don’t blame them.

These cupcakes are delightfully easy to make because they use a whisk, whisk, and stir method. Just like a quick bread. You whisk together the dry ingredients including a heavy dose of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl you whisk together your dry ingredients. And then, you stir them both together! These are super easy gluten free cupcakes. Thanks to the sweet potato puree and the use of both baking powder and baking soda these still have an incredibly fluffy crumb. You know that I don’t allow any gummy gluten free baked goods here! To top these fluffy cupcakes we use on of my favourite frostings: cream cheese. Swirls of this pearlescent frosting send me into raptures. There’s a reason the combination of spiced cake and cream cheese frosting is a classic: it just works.

Let’s celebrate a new Thoroughly Nourished Life in the sweetest way possible!

Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Gluten Free | Makes about 16 cupcakes | Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days (if they last that long!)

Note: To make this loaf even easier, I often wrap a sweet potato in aluminium foil and bake it in the oven until the centre is tender all the way through. Then let it cool down and keep it in the refrigerator for up to four days to be used in baking. You can of course, steam the sweet potato on the day of baking, just remember to let it cool completely before pureeing well and incorporating into the mixture.

Ingredients

• 1 medium sweet potato, about 300-400g (to make 3/4 cup puree)
• 80 grams buckwheat flour
• 80 grams white rice flour
• 80 grams sorghum flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/3 cup (packed) brown sugar
• 50 grams butter, melted and cooled
• 3 tablespoons dark honey
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence

For the frosting

• 250 grams cream cheese, softened
• 60 grams butter, softened
• 500 grams gluten free icing sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1-2 tablespoons milk

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180C (350F). Wrap sweet potato in foil and bake in oven for 45 minutes or until the middle is soft. Insert a metal skewer to test. Remove sweet potato from oven, unwrap, slice down the middle and allow to cool. You can do this process in advance, see note above.
2. Once sweet potato is cool, peel off skin, and puree well in the bowl of a small food processor or using a stick blender. Measure out 3/4 cup of sweet potato puree.
3. Line 16 holes of two 12-hole cupcake tins with cupcake liners. Set aside until required.
4. In a large bowl whisk together buckwheat flour, white rice flour, sorghum flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and ginger until well combined.
5. In a separate bowl whisk together brown sugar, melted and cooled butter, honey, eggs, milk, vanilla essence, and sweet potato puree.
6. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
7. Divide between prepared cupcake tins.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 15-17 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cooking time will vary depending on your oven. I recommend switching the position of the trays at about 7 minutes and then checking at 15 minutes to see if they need more time.
9. Once cooked, remove from oven. Allow to cool for in the tins for 5 minutes before taking cupcakes out of pan and allow to cool completely before frosting.
10. While cupcakes are cooling make your frosting.
11. Place cream cheese and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until light and creamy, about 3 minutes.
12. Add icing sugar, vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon of milk and beat on a low speed until everything comes together. If the mix is too dry add the extra tablespoon of milk.
13. Switch mixer speed to medium-high and beat until smooth and creamy.
14. Place frosting in the refrigerator for an hour. Mix with a wooden spoon every 20 minutes or so. This frosting needs a little time in the fridge to firm up otherwise you may end up with very runny frosting.
15. Once frosting is firmer and cupcakes are cooled it’s time to decorate! Fit a piping bag with your preferred decorating tip (I used a medium star tip) and fill the bag with frosting. Pipe swirls on top of each cupcake. You could use a palette knife instead if you’d prefer. Decorate as desired.